Questions on Lanai cabins on Rotterdam

We are looking to book on the Rotterdam, in one of their "Lanai" cabins that have a glass door that opens onto the Promenade Deck. Our concern is the visibility of people passing on the Promenade Deck looking into the cabin. Do you have privacy, or do you have to keep your drapes closed all the time ? I would hope that the glass doors are tinted with a reflective coating to prevent people from looking directly into your cabin, especially at night with lights on in the cabin. Also, is there a problem with guests stacking towels and books on the lounge chairs directly outside your cabin door, and blocking them from our use for the entire day. I know that happens near the pools, but does it happen on the Promenade Deck outside the Lanai cabins ? Any hints from previous guests in Lanai cabins would be appreciated.

I can answer your second question. I had to kick people off the lounge chairs because they are not clearly identified as belonging to the occupants of a particular stateroom. I learned to keep a pillow out there 24/7: that seemed to deter interlopers.

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The loungers are generally positioned against the solid part of the walls (or bulkheads) so towels would not be an issue. But when we were last on the Rotterdam (September), HAL had removed all the small "Reserved" plaques which added to problems for the Lanai folks. If somebody is in the lounger outside your cabin you may be out of luck unless you want to be firm and hope the person cooperates. But the truth is that when I would walk around that deck during the day, most of the loungers were empty. I guess it just depends on the weather and the passengers on that particular cruise. During cocktails one evening some cruisers were telling us that they hated some Princess ships because they did not have a promanade that wrapped around the ship. But when I asked these same folks do they ever walk on the Promanade the lady laughed and said they had not gone out there once (and it was about 4 weeks into the cruise).

As to the coating on the windows, it does give you privacy when its light outside. But once it begins to get dark, a person outside can often see in...if you have the interior lights turned on. To be honest, we know that some HAL cruisers love those Lanai cabins, but we would not pay extra for those cabins (over a decent outside cabin). If they give us one on an upgrade....that is fine. But we would not even accept an upsell to the Lanai (many others disagree).

Hank

The loungers are generally positioned against the solid part of the walls (or bulkheads) so towels would not be an issue. But when we were last on the Rotterdam (September), HAL had removed all the small "Reserved" plaques which added to problems for the Lanai folks. If somebody is in the lounger outside your cabin you may be out of luck unless you want to be firm and hope the person cooperates. But the truth is that when I would walk around that deck during the day, most of the loungers were empty. I guess it just depends on the weather and the passengers on that particular cruise. During cocktails one evening some cruisers were telling us that they hated some Princess ships because they did not have a promanade that wrapped around the ship. But when I asked these same folks do they ever walk on the Promanade the lady laughed and said they had not gone out there once (and it was about 4 weeks into the cruise).

 

As to the coating on the windows, it does give you privacy when its light outside. But once it begins to get dark, a person outside can often see in...if you have the interior lights turned on. To be honest, we know that some HAL cruisers love those Lanai cabins, but we would not pay extra for those cabins (over a decent outside cabin). If they give us one on an upgrade....that is fine. But we would not even accept an upsell to the Lanai (many others disagree).

 

Hank

Thank you Hank for your insight. My husband and I have struggled with reserving a lanai as we were not sure what issues would be involved with the situations you describe. Your perspective is very helpful.

Claire

Was just on the Rotterdam and had the pleasure to see a Lanai there on a cabin crawl.

During the day, no one can see in and they have a separate key to come from outide the promenade.

They had NO issues with their reserved chairs at all.

At night, they did draw the curtains (but most of us do tokeep the light out ;) ) out of fear someone could see in.

We did the test and no one could see in the cabin.

It was a charming lay out and they had an aswesome spot on the promenade. They were on for 30 days and love dit.

We have a lanai cabin booked for March 2018 sailing. Looking forward to the trip and this different cabin. Back to OP questions. If anyone stacks their items to "reserve" our chairs we will not hesitate to remove said items. Also if someone is occupying our chairs we will ask them to move. May make our own reserved signs to bring along for our chairs, if the signs have been removed.

We are sailing on Rotterdam Jan 14th and after much deliberation upgraded to a Lanai cabin., as the only alternative to a cabin with outdoor access was a Vista or Neptune suite. i was concerned about chair squatters but have decided I will be firm in asking people to move if they choose to use our chairs, and will probably put my own towel and book etc on them first thing in the morning. If anyone leaves things on My chair they will have to claim them from lost and found!!!,

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Thanks for all of the input. We usually book a regular balcony cabin on Vista class ships and larger. However, the only way to get a private balcony on the Rotterdam is to book a Vista Suite. But a Vista Suite on the Rotterdam is identical to a regular balcony cabin on the newer ships, except for the price. That's why we are considering the Lanai cabin. When we come back to the cabin at night, we usually watch a movie on the TV. But in a normal balcony cabin we leave the drapes open. There's nothing out there except fish, so nobody can see in, even with the light of the TV. On a Lanai cabin, I would have hoped that the window coating would be reflective, so even at night, a person would have to press their nose to the glass to be able to see in. We like to wake to the sunrise, and if the drapes are closed, we lose that ability. I guess we will have to test it at night, and keep the drapes closed until the TV is off.

Thanks for all of the input. We usually book a regular balcony cabin on Vista class ships and larger. However, the only way to get a private balcony on the Rotterdam is to book a Vista Suite. But a Vista Suite on the Rotterdam is identical to a regular balcony cabin on the newer ships, except for the price. That's why we are considering the Lanai cabin. When we come back to the cabin at night, we usually watch a movie on the TV. But in a normal balcony cabin we leave the drapes open. There's nothing out there except fish, so nobody can see in, even with the light of the TV. On a Lanai cabin, I would have hoped that the window coating would be reflective, so even at night, a person would have to press their nose to the glass to be able to see in. We like to wake to the sunrise, and if the drapes are closed, we lose that ability. I guess we will have to test it at night, and keep the drapes closed until the TV is off.

I found that even at night the inside of the cabin is somewhat obscured, and believe me, I looked. Light fixtures glow but everything else beyond the immediate area of the sliding door is hazy or shadowy, unless, of course, for some reason one feels the need to press one's naked body against the door glass. I had no reservations about leaving my drapes open in the evening. I felt much more exposed in my angled cabin on the Koningsdam, which featured a direct line of sight from the neighboring cabin to my bed

We love a lanai cabin because there's lots of light and a huge balcony outside your sliders. One thing about the chairs: on our 49 day Atlantic Adventure, we noticed they had taken the signs off the chairs designating those chairs to the lanai cabins. I asked for my money back, between the difference of an ov and a lanai. Well, a sign went promptly on the chair after that. Why pay so much extra for the cabin if you don't have the lounger to go with it. If you look at the 2018/2019 HAL catalogue, it clearly states that those lounge chairs are "Reserved and waiting for you".

Thank you Hank for your insight. My husband and I have struggled with reserving a lanai as we were not sure what issues would be involved with the situations you describe. Your perspective is very helpful.

 

Claire

Another factor that has been reported with the Lanai doors, its that they are sometimes drafty. Remember these are additions to the original ship. They had to cut a hole in the wall and add in the doors that open onto the promenade deck. For temperate clients, its probably not an issue, but the reports I've seen in hot or cold weather were not good.

One of the posts I saw that to fix the problem the ship had to basically seal it shut with duct tape so that it was unusable as a door anymore.

DH and I spent 42 days on Rotterdam in a lanai cabin and we both agreed that we enjoyed it much more than the balcony we had the long trip before. No you can not see into the cabin. We checked during the day. Didn't check at night as we always have our drapes drawn. We also didn't have any problems with people sitting in our reserved lounge. The lounge chairs right outside the door so someone would need to be pretty bold to sit there. The one thing we really liked is when you go into port we always are outside watching the entry and taking pictures. In a balcony you need to hang over the side of the railing to get a good shot. in a lanai you walk outside and stand at the railing. If you want a different angle just walk down the promenade and take the shot. Want to get some shots from the other side walk around the promenade and get shots from the other side. We would book another one in a heartbeat!!!

We are sailing on Rotterdam Jan 14th and after much deliberation upgraded to a Lanai cabin., .....

Would appreciate any feedback you may have on your Lanai cabin please.

We are considering one and the cruise is for over a month, so after as much different feedback as possible.

Thanks

We booked a Lanai cabin for our 14 day S Caribbean cruise in January and absolutely LOVED it, it was the nicest cabin we have had in our 6 cruises, way better than the balcony we had for our Panama Cruise, as you have a view the full length of the ship right from your deck chair.

We were both recovering from a severe head cold at the beginning of the cruise so didnt venture far from our cabin, and in the afternoons my DH would have a nap and I could stay close outside reading. We also found that as we got further south and the weather got warmer, we didnt want to spend too much time on the open sunny decks when we had a lovely place to sit. It was a sociable place, we met many of our neighbours and also got to know quite a few of the "walkers" as they would do their laps around the prom deck.

I would put a towel and book or magazine on our chairs in the morning and never had a problem, but there were some issues with other people sitting in the chairs. One afternoon about 4 days out someone occupied our neighbours chair and when she very politely explained that the chairs were reserved he got quite obnoxious. It appears that many passengers are not aware that those chairs are reserved for the lanai cabin occupants and there were no reserved signs. Later that day I did notice some cabins had reserved signs on their chairs and I asked those people if they made their own signs, they said they went to the front desk and asked for the reserved signs. Well that evening we and a few of our neighbours did the same, they put reserved signs on our chairs and after that there was no problem. The front desk told me that they were waiting for new signs after the dry dock, but really, how long do a few reserved signs take! We did find that as the weather got warmer many people would walk by looking for a shady place to sit and one woman even said to me, if there is no sign I can use that chair.

I feel that HAL is at fault in not having reserved signs on all the Lanai cabin chairs, but it seemed that if you didnt complain they left them as 'open seating'. I also noticed that on the morning we docked in Tampa, all the signs that had been put on the chairs had been removed.

As far as being able to see in, during the day you could not see in but in the evening if the lights were on you definitely could, so we kept our drapes closed at night. Someone mentioned that the doors didnt fit well and air came in around the cracks, we never experienced any problems in that regard.

Would I book a Lanai cabin again - absolutely yes, it was worth the extra. I would suggest if there is no reserved sign, right away on Day 1 go to the front desk and have them put the signs on.

I would suggest if there is no reserved sign, right away on Day 1 go to the front desk and have them put the signs on.

Thanks for the GREAT suggestion. I'm thinking of laminating a "Reserved for Cabin Occupant" just in case!

Thanks for the GREAT suggestion. I'm thinking of laminating a "Reserved for Cabin Occupant" just in case!

You could do that, make sure you put your cabin number on it. I did notice someone on the first day had a handwritten reserved sign on the chair and next day it was not there,

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We just returned from the Rotterdam and had a Lanai stateroom (3335). We did have folks in our chairs before the ship even sailed. There were no reserved signs on the chairs. I went to the front desk and complained about the situation. We had “ reserved signs” on our two chairs that evening. I noticed more signs as the week went on. The last evening I noticed that all the Lanai cabins had reserved signs on their chairs.

We enjoyed the Lanai but I question if it was really worth the extra dollars for us.We just did not spend that much time in the chairs and the sliding door was difficult to open . The keycard was difficult to lock and unlock the door. We will most likely go with a regular outside for our next cruise.

So, here is my question (perhaps a rhetorical one). When we were on the VOV cruise last August, the "Reserved" signs had already been removed (you could still see the marks from where they used to be mounted). It is now March, the Rotterdam had a major dry dock back in October....and yet there are still no "reserved" signs. It sound like its now a situation where HAL only responds when there is a complain...and seems to be done on a cruise to cruise basis. So what gives?

Hank

You could do that, make sure you put your cabin number on it. I did notice someone on the first day had a handwritten reserved sign on the chair and next day it was not there,

 

 

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Maybe I should bring a dozen!

Maybe I should bring a dozen!

Yes, that's what I'm going to do. Mine will be laminated, as we have a machine at work that I can use. I'll also alert the front desk that I want their signs on our chairs. Thanks for this important information. We did pay more for this cabin than we usually pay because of the "reserved chairs" and extra deck space. Granted it's a public deck, but we hope it works well for us. We'll see. If we constantly have to chase people from our chairs, it won't be pleasant. Here's hoping the signs, whether homemade or HAL-made, will deter people.

Yes, that's what I'm going to do. Mine will be laminated, as we have a machine at work that I can use. I'll also alert the front desk that I want their signs on our chairs. Thanks for this important information. We did pay more for this cabin than we usually pay because of the "reserved chairs" and extra deck space. Granted it's a public deck, but we hope it works well for us. We'll see. If we constantly have to chase people from our chairs, it won't be pleasant. Here's hoping the signs, whether homemade or HAL-made, will deter people.

We don't have a laminating machine so I'll have to pay to have them done here at the UPS store. I'll also check Front Desk, but this might be good until I can go ask about them.

Do what ever works. After all you have paid for that sliding door and chairs, but it should not be up to you to enforce being able to enjoy them. We loved the ability to open our door and have a nice place to relax, and btw, those chairs are very comfortable. It's a shame that HAL will not respond until it becomes an issue.

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So glad I read this thread. We Will be in our first Lanai cabin going up the Atlantic coast in late April. I’ll know now to speak to the front desk if the Veendam chairs no longer have reserved signs.

I’ve had on my bucket list to try one of these, as I love the Lower Prom staterooms. We’ve always booked one of the rooms closest to a passenger doorway.

I travel with a service dog, so access to the promenade deck puts us much closer to her relief station and is convenient for daily exercise walks. (Come to think of it, it might be a shock to another passenger reclining on the lounge just outside our room if a 70 pound Lab suddenly emerges.)

I travel with a service dog, so access to the promenade deck puts us much closer to her relief station and is convenient for daily exercise walks. (Come to think of it, it might be a shock to another passenger reclining on the lounge just outside our room if a 70 pound Lab suddenly emerges.)

We are looking to book on the Rotterdam, in one of their "Lanai" cabins that have a glass door that opens onto the Promenade Deck. Our concern is the visibility of people passing on the Promenade Deck looking into the cabin. Do you have privacy, or do you have to keep your drapes closed all the time ? I would hope that the glass doors are tinted with a reflective coating to prevent people from looking directly into your cabin, especially at night with lights on in the cabin. Also, is there a problem with guests stacking towels and books on the lounge chairs directly outside your cabin door, and blocking them from our use for the entire day. I know that happens near the pools, but does it happen on the Promenade Deck outside the Lanai cabins ? Any hints from previous guests in Lanai cabins would be appreciated.

We sailed on Veendam in January 2015 in a Lanai cabin. Sort of a positive/negative opinion: Positive - was great to just open the curtain all day for the view, or step out on "our" walking deck. And, at that time there were metal plates on the wall outside our cabin designating the lounge chair reservation for the occupants. I only had to point out the plate to anyone who sat there, and they were glad to move - didn't have to do this very often. I don't know why they were changed to the chair, that is too easy to move.

Negative - the sliding door was very, very hard for me to open, impossible for my husband. We were only given one magnetic card to open the door, so if one of us was on the deck, the other one had to stay around. This may have changed. All in all, we enjoyed it for that one cruise, but the cost was so close to a private veranda, we opted for that since.